Put some sleepers in. Because I like sleeping. And to put my 40 foot container on once it arrives.

SUCH a relief to finally have the site access work completed, after months of incapacitating weather! And at double the initially quoted cost... But! A 7 meter wide gate, near 300 meters long drive-way, near 300 square meters parking area, 600 square meter build site (House will be WAY smaller!), and a dam that will eventually create a roughly 600 square meter pond/wetland. Woohoo!!!!

Progress on the earthworks on the site is heavily dependent on the weather. And this is the worst time of the year. So it's a bit slow. But! There definitely is progress!

• The main access is now widened even further for big trucks to be able to enter the site without issue.
• The driveway has been fully dug out, and about half of it has a foundational level of base core on it.
• The parking lot has all the topsoil removed.
• The build site has all the topsoil removed.

Yet to be done:

• Levelling the parking lot.
• Levelling the build site.
• Moving the clay that comes out of the levelled sites and make a dam to create some wetland/pond area.
• Fully surfacing the driveway and parking lot with base core and top core.

The moment I've been waiting for for a couple of years now is finally here! Proper site access is being created! Soon I'll finally have a decent driveway, and a proper parking area! I'm so excited!

Today a milestone was reached in the design of my future home. It's been a long journey since the first visit to the site in late 2018, through the purchase in September 2019, ploughing through a COVID-19 pandemic... The initial concept had come together through multiple sessions of talking and sketching with Michael McKay in 2021 the design has now developed, pun intended, with the help of Lars Stannard into what's apparently called a 'developed design'.

This means basically that the positioning of floorplan, windows, doors, walls, and roof have been agreed: Assuming that the build remains affordable once we get to that stage in maybe 1-2 years from now, the house will take up 160 square meters. It will contain 1 bedroom with en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. A guest toilet. Large kitchen/dining. And the majority of the house will be the lounge + study area. The house will be facing east. This means morning sun only, while taking in the massive views. (See previous post for a photo of that.)

Apparently this means the house will take up measly 0.58% of the total 3 hectare site. And in sketch form that then looks something like this:

Yes you'll need to use a lot of imagination to picture what that will look like for real. For now.... ;-)

So here goes... Deep in the Shire, in the lands of Middle Earth, I acquired a bit of hill. And there I shall be digging holes in the ground. These holes will be the beginning of paradise. My paradise, inside this bigger paradise.
I obtained a ute to help me carry the goods around that undoubtedly need carrying in such a large project. And am working with architects and engineers on designing a house, a homestead, which will be complemented by an astronomical observatory.
It is a long journey still. And the road goes ever on and on. I'll just have to keep my feet. Because I've been told, there be dragons...